My Life at Sea by Commander W Caius Crutchley

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Title: My Life at Sea

Author: W. Caius Crutchley

Release Date: March 25, 2015 [EBook #48582]

Language: English

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MY LIFE AT SEA

Frontispiece

CAPE HORN, DISTANT ONE MILE

(From a photograph taken from the “Ruapehu”)

MY LIFE AT SEA

BEING A “YARN” LOOSELY SPUN FOR THE PURPOSE
OF HOLDING TOGETHER CERTAIN REMINISCENCES

OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM SAIL TO

STEAM IN THE BRITISH MERCANTILE

MARINE (1863–1894)

BY

COMMANDER W. CAIUS CRUTCHLEY

R.D., R.N.R., F.R.G.S.

A YOUNGER BROTHER OF TRINITY HOUSE, LATE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY LEAGUE

WITH A PREFACE BY

EARL BRASSEY, G.C.B.

WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON

CHAPMAN AND HALL, Ltd.

1912

Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,

BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E.,

AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.

DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO

EARL BRASSEY, G.C.B.,

LORD WARDEN OF THE CINQUE PORTS;

ALSO

A MASTER MARINER AND CIRCUMNAVIGATOR.

FOREWORD

My good sailor friend Captain Crutchley has asked me to write a foreword to his autobiography. It is a pleasure to comply.
The author began his life at sea in sailing-ships, in the age of the Black Ball liners, the Baltimore clipper-ships, and those perfect

specimens of naval architecture built in Aberdeen for the China tea trade.

Captain Crutchley tells of the hardships of the sea. He gives stirring descriptions of the performances of the ships in which he sailed.

His narrative may perhaps be briefly supplemented. Sir George Holmes, in his book on ancient and modern ships, quotes many
examples of record passages. In 1851, the Nightingale, in a race from Shanghai to Deal, ran on one occasion 336 knots in twenty-four
hours. In the same year the Flying Cloud, in a voyage from New York to San Francisco, ran 427 knots in one day. The Thermopylæ,
886 tons register, built by Messrs. Steel, of Greenock, sailed 354 knots in twenty-four hours. The Aberdeen clippers of the ’sixties did
marvellous work. Under sail, the Ariel, Taeping and Serica started together from Foochow on May 30, 1866. They met off the Lizard
on September 6; and on the same day the Taeping arrived in the East India Dock at 9.45 p.m., and the Ariel at 10.15 p.m.—a
difference of half-an-hour after racing for over three months on end.

The present writer recalls a like personal experience of more recent date. In 1905 a race was sailed from Sandy Hook to the

Lizard for a cup offered by the German Emperor. On that occasion the Valhalla, a full-rigged ship, Hildegarde and Endymion, two-
masted fore-and-aft schooners, and the Sunbeam, a three-masted topsail-yard schooner, anchored off Cowes on the same tide, the

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distance of more than 3300 miles from Sandy Hook having been covered in fourteen days.

After years of service at sea, Captain Crutchley passed from sail to steam. He filled important commands with distinguished

success. He began with the comparatively easy voyage to the Cape. In the later years of his career at sea he was engaged in
Australasian voyages, when his experience in sailing-ships enabled him, by the combined power of sail and steam, to make successful
voyages.

In Captain Crutchley’s time ships coming direct from the homeland were the bonds of empire. They received a warm welcome on

their arrival in the distant ports of New Zealand and Australia. Captain Crutchley earned a deserved popularity as a representative
seaman. He began his work as an empire builder while serving at sea. It was continued ashore for a period of many years in the capacity
of Secretary of the Navy League.

The book abounds in valuable hints on discipline at sea. The vessels commanded by Captain Crutchley were happy ships.
It only remains to commend this volume as interesting reading to all who love the sea and admire the hardy breed of men who do

business in great waters.

Brassey.

March 7, 1912.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Chapter I
1

Chapter II
25

Chapter III
51

Chapter IV
75

Chapter V
97

Chapter VI
125

Chapter VII
155

Chapter VIII
185

Chapter IX
215

Chapter X
241

Chapter XI
269

Chapter XII
301

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

To face page

Cape Horn, distant One Mile

(From a photograph taken from the “Ruapehu”)

Frontispiece

Clipper Ship “Essex,” 1042 Tons. J. S. Atwood, Commander
46

U.S.S. “Roman”
100

U.S.S. “Nyanza”
100

U.S.S. “African”
100

U.S.S. “Syria”

(From a painting by Willie Fleming of Cape Town)

145

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xi

N.Z.S. Co.’s “Ruapehu”
243

N.Z.S.S. “Kaikoura”

(From a painting by Willie Fleming of Cape Town)

271

“Kaikoura” in Harbour
283

The Master of the “Kaikoura”
289

Shaking a Reef out
303

A Handy Mainsail which does not drive Smoke down on the Bridge
311

CHAPTER I

“Ride with an idle whip, ride with an unused heel,
But, once in a way, there will come a day
When the colt must be taught to feel
The lash that falls, and the curb that galls,
And the sting of the rowelled heel.”—Kipling.

Early in the year 1863 there was brought into the little harbour of Margate a vessel called the Figaro of Narbonne, a small craft

with a cargo of wine. She had got into trouble on one of the many outlying sandbanks which make the entrance to the Thames a
problem of considerable difficulty for any vessel not thoroughly qualified to meet any emergency that may arise through wind or weather.
What the precise cause of this accident was escapes my memory, but whatever its origin, it was instrumental in sending me to sea, for it
brought me into close contact with a London merchant, Mr. Trapp, who was interested in her cargo and who had come down to
supervise her repairs. This merchant was also a shipowner, and had been at sea during the French wars in the early part of the century.
He was good enough to tell me many stories relating to privateering and the customs of the sea, to all of which I listened greedily, for I
was born with the sound of the sea in my ears and from my earliest recollections had made up my mind that the sailor’s life was the only
one worth living. Unfortunately this view was not shared either by my father or my mother, both of whom had set their minds upon
making me a civil engineer. My head master was of the same opinion as myself as regards my future, but we reached the same
conclusion by somewhat different roads, as will be seen.

I scarcely think I was tractable as a school-boy. I can distinctly remember that from the age of ten until I was fourteen I was always

the “awful example,” and my impression is that the cane was administered thrice daily with great regularity. At the age of fourteen there
was a serious difference of opinion between the head master and myself; he suggested that my conduct in class was beyond his
endurance, and I, considering his was also objectionable, expressed my view by launching a book at his head. When I turned to make
my escape, there was no escape for me; I was headed off and cornered by masters lower down the room. And face downwards on a
desk I both heard and felt the best arguments that can be used in such circumstances. When I got home, these arguments were only too
palpable, and my indulgent parents brought my career at that school to a summary conclusion. Nevertheless, I bore the old boy no
malice, for he was a good judge of a human boy’s nature. When he asked me one day what I was going to be, I replied, “Civil
engineer,” to which he retorted, “A soldier or a sailor is all they will ever make of you,” and it must be confessed that it was a fairly
accurate forecast, though the prophecy was evidently not intended as a compliment to either army or navy.

After that episode it seemed to dawn upon my mind that it was time to learn something, and I was put as a private pupil with a man

whose memory I shall always respect (afterwards Leetham of Thanet House), for he had the great gift of raising his pupil’s enthusiasm
for the subject he was teaching. We used to start quite early in the morning, before breakfast, take our time in the middle of the day for
recreation, and again tackle the work in the evening. It was in one of the mid-day recreations that, happening to walk down the lower
pier, I met my old friend the shipowner. I soon made up my mind that I must go to sea, and realised that here was the instrument by
which my desire could be accomplished. A steady siege was at once commenced.

My dear old father would not listen to the scheme for a moment; salt water had no charms for him. Yet he himself had taught me

the use of mathematical instruments and given me a fair grounding in plan drawing and similar matters. The shrine at which he
worshipped, however, was that of Brunel and the great engineers who were then discovering the wonders of applied science. My
mother, on the other hand, seeing that my mind was made up, offered no further opposition, and when the time arrived managed to give
me the necessary assistance.

The scheme finally formulated was this. My friend Mr. Trapp had at that time a vessel in port of which he was part owner, and as

she carried apprentices I was to take my place among them on her next voyage, but it was also stipulated that a premium was to be
paid. How often, I wonder, have boys been jeered at by the old salts as being “blank gentlemen’s sons that pay to go to sea,” and when
one considers in after life the hardships of a sailing-ship, such a custom certainly seems humorous.

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Well, the appointed day arrived and my mother and I set out for London to carry out the necessary preliminaries. My father had

provided funds in a surreptitious sort of manner, for when the die was cast he accepted the situation, though he never really acquiesced
in it. Boys are heartless brutes as a rule where their inclinations are concerned, and set little store by the desires of those who have had
the trouble of rearing them. But, after all, we none of us are asked whether we would like to come into the world. We are shoved upon
the stage willy-nilly without any consideration as to the part we are to play, and expected to give unquestioning obedience to the
prompter. This seemed to me unreasonable, and that is how I at length found myself in the London Docks boarding the Alwynton, a
sailing barque of 491 tons register. To the best of my knowledge she was one of a series of outside vessels chartered by the Orient line,
and a stout, staunch craft she was, good looking also in her own way.

On the other side of the wharf was the sailing-ship Orient, the first of her name and a clipper of renown. The officers and men of

that craft considered themselves very superior beings to those who had not the good fortune to sail under the blue St. Andrew’s Cross;
but they in their turn were looked down upon by the men sailing in the ships of Green, Dunbar, Wigram & Smith. In those days it would
have required a very careful M.C. to give the varying grades of the merchant services their due order of precedence.

We were met by a very dark, handsome man who we were told was one of the owners of the vessel, and one of the first remarks

he made to me after the ceremony of introduction had been gone through was on the iniquity of my wearing kid gloves. Needless to say,
I immediately disclaimed any intention of doing so in the future, being fearful that so pernicious a habit should already have prejudiced
my chances of forming one unit of the ship’s company of so particularly correct a craft. Let me here say that the last time I met that
gentleman he was bowed in stature and quite white on the figurehead; it was at the Trinity House, and this time we foregathered on
equal terms. I reminded him of the particular incident and he was much amused. I regret that he has now joined the majority, leaving
behind him a name that will be long remembered for good and philanthropic work wherever seamen are concerned. I refer to Captain
David Mainland.

My first doubts were raised when I met the second mate, who seemed to be what I should now describe as a particularly “hefty”

personage. He was not wearing any elaborate uniform, in fact he wore neither coat nor waistcoat, and was very busily engaged in
assisting to take in stores and stow them away down a hatchway in the after part of the cabin, a receptacle known as the lazarette. For
many months afterwards that place to me was one of discomfort, for it was also the sailroom, and to one not accustomed to the smell of
“below decks” the work of stowing and re-arranging canvas was not agreeable. It was, however, particularly the sort of operation to
which a raw and unskilled hand could be usefully turned, and accordingly there fell to my lot a good deal of it.

Immediately behind this hatchway were two staterooms, so called, fine airy cabins, one of which was the abode of Captain Hole,

whose acquaintance it was now my lot to make. Let me try and describe him. He was a man of more than average height and enormous
chest measurement; his face was not so weather-beaten as might have been expected, but it was one mass of freckles, and was
surmounted by sandy hair and fringed with whiskers of the same colour. His hands were mighty and possessed enormous power, as I
was to discover later. There was withal a bluff bonhomie about the man that was attractive in its way, and to do him justice I think he
tried to behave as well as he could, but he was the natural product of a hard school.

On this particular occasion he wished to be very agreeable, and the interview went off well, ending with the transfer of my premium

from my mother’s pocket to his. In this he stole a march upon my first friend, the owner, who had intended me to be his apprentice, in
place of which I was forthwith indentured to Captain Hole.

The remainder of the day was all pure joy. I was a sailor and was measured for my sailor clothes! Some days afterwards I went

back home to display to my lay acquaintances and the world of Margate in general, the full glory of blue cloth and brass buttons. Upon
mature consideration I am not certain that the first wearing of a brass-bound cap is not the most satisfactory experience in a long sea life;
the first command is not in any way to be compared with it.

At length the long-looked-for day arrived when I was to join my ship, and I set out without a doubt in my mind, and with a callous

indifference to the tearful farewells of my family, or rather the feminine portion of it. I have since noticed that this indifference is not
unusual with the human boy, and perhaps it is well that it should be so, for he is like the young bear and has no idea of the troubles that
lie before him. Still, were my time to be gone through again, even starting with the accumulated wisdom of half-a-century’s experience, I
doubt greatly whether I should act very differently.

I was not, however, fated to join my ship that day. I was taken by my old friend, Mr. Trapp, to his house in the Minories and

handed over to the care of one of his sons. He took me to my first theatre, and next morning at breakfast was solemnly reproved by his
father for causing me to break that clause in my indenture which forbade the apprentices to frequent taverns or playhouses.

But the time had now come when the realities were to commence. We were five apprentices in all, and, with the carpenter and

boatswain, lived in the starboard side of the topgallant forecastle. As the ship’s windlass formed part of the furniture it may be imagined
that the quarters were rough in the extreme, but they were in keeping with the life in general, which began to develop as soon as we
reached the dockhead, prior to being towed down the river. Here we began to make acquaintance with that very authoritative person,
the chief mate, who in all well-ordered ships is the ruling spirit. Mr. Coleman was a good specimen of the mate of his time. Not bad-
looking by any means, very neat in personal appearance, and painfully precise in his remarks to all and sundry. There was also
conveyed in some particularly subtle manner the fact that he was an accomplished pugilist, and in point of fact, there were not many that
could emphasise their orders with greater neatness and dispatch. I can recall many instances where the trouble was over almost as soon
as it began, and that was no small qualification for an officer in the rough sailing-ship days. This quality of command was quickly
manifested on the way to Gravesend, when the work of rigging out the jib-boom and getting things shipshape commenced in earnest.
Before the first day was finished we had discovered that the lot of an apprentice was likely to prove an extremely lively one.

The next few days were a blank to me—sea-sickness claimed me for its very own, and there is only a confused recollection left in

my mind of wishing to die and being expressly prevented from doing anything of the sort. That state of affairs lasted perhaps two days,
until one morning with a fair wind and fine weather the episode passed away like an ugly dream. There was one other difficulty,

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however, to be surmounted, and that was “going aloft.” But with a determined boatswain behind you it is astonishing how quickly
difficulties disappear; the terrors of the unknown yielded swiftly to good solid pliable arguments capable of immediate application.

It becomes evident to me that I must curtail my reminiscences of this period or my work will grow to gigantic proportions

completely unwarranted by the importance of the subject, but I wish, if I may, to record one phase in the change from sail to steam.

We were bound to Adelaide with a general cargo, and made a fairly good passage. The captain firmly believed in giving the crew

lots of work to keep the devil out of their minds. Consequently the ship was what was known as an “all hands ship,” in other words
neither officer, nor man, nor boy ever had an afternoon watch below. “Watch and watch” was a thing unknown, but as the power of the
master was absolute there could be no appeal, and for reasons I have hinted at there were none who would have been willing to incur
the wrath of the ruling powers. It will be shown presently how those powers were sometimes used, but that was the ship’s routine, and
every afternoon, no matter what the weather, all hands were on deck from half-past twelve to five o’clock. We apprentices were taught
to observe the meridian altitude, and sometimes in the afternoons and evenings the captain gave us some instruction in navigation, but the
mate rather resented what he termed loafing in the cabin in the afternoon. Our captain was also fond of signalling to other vessels, and
that, of course, was our special work. In those days it was almost a certainty that every vessel sighted was British; a foreign flag was a
matter of interest. But the great mass of the world’s sailing-ships to-day are no longer of our nationality, and the training of our future
seamen can no longer be carried on in those best of all possible schools for teaching men self-reliance, and the faculty of doing the right
thing at the right time. The trip out was uneventful. By the time we had arrived at our port of destination we boys had learned to steer,
and to use a broom, also to furl the light canvas, and generally do as we were told.

Port Adelaide in those days was still a rising town, and the facilities it offered to shipping were considerable. We were consequently

soon discharged and loaded up for Auckland with a cargo of flour, wheat, and sheep on deck. At that time the Maori War was in
progress, and we had hopes that some adventure might possibly befall, for up to this time our visions of sea life had become very
commonplace, and were far from realising our youthful fancies. I may say that the experiences of the passage out had satisfied several of
the men and one of the apprentices, who consequently deserted. Some difficulty was experienced in filling their places, as colonial
wages ran high.

We ran through Bass Straits with a fine fair wind. There are few more picturesque parts of the sea than these grand straits, dotted

with steep rocky islands like impregnable fortresses. On this passage, as I have said, we had a cargo of sheep on deck, and as these
foolish animals will not drink of their own accord, it was necessary to administer to each member of the flock one quart bottle of water
daily, an operation which at first took a considerable time. After a few days, however, they became accustomed to the treatment and
gave no trouble.

When the coast of New Zealand was sighted and we were running through the Bay of Islands, the captain thought it prudent to

overhaul the ship’s armoury, and muskets, pistols and cutlasses were all got on deck for cleaning and putting in order. Here it was
discovered that I was of some use, for firearms had been one of my hobbies, in which I had been encouraged by the officer in charge of
the coastguard at Margate—dear old Bob Aldrich. After a long lapse of years I can recall his cheery face and the infinite patience with
which he initiated me into the mysteries of powder and shot. He succeeded after a time in making me a fair marksman.

With a view to testing the hitting power of the crew a bottle was hung at the fore yard-arm, and we all fired in turn. The bottle

survived until it came to my turn, and then, probably because I had loaded the musket properly, I hit it, but suffered reproof afterwards
because I could not do so with a ship’s pistol. I mention this matter of loading because, even with an old smooth-bore gun, if the bullet
was properly centred by means of the spare cartridge paper, it was quite possible at short ranges to get decent shooting from it, but if,
as commonly happened, the bullet and cartridge were rammed down anyhow, the bullet went anywhere.

There are few harbours in the world more beautiful than Auckland; it is worthy of Kipling’s description “last, loveliest, loneliest,

exquisite, apart—on us, on us the unswerving season smiles.” I have known the apple of beauty claimed often for Sydney. Of that
harbour I cannot speak personally, but I have heard a great Sydney authority confess that the apple should, in fact, be given to the
harbour of Rio, and with that judgment I am inclined to agree.

The most striking object in entering Auckland is the mountain Rangitoto. It is doubtful whether it can best be described as a cone or

a pyramid; from whichever side it is viewed it presents the same shape, and it possesses considerable interest by the speculation it
creates as to whether it is an extinct volcano. In point of fact the whole region is volcanic, and once, many years afterwards, in a little
altercation with an Auckland man concerning some point in connection with the harbour, I heard it observed that he need not put on too
much side, “for he was only living on the outside of a bally cinder, anyway.” Curiously enough, within ten days of that altercation, there
occurred the eruption of Tarawera, and the celebrated terraces were destroyed.

Anchored off Rangitoto was a splendid-looking ship, the Tyburnia, as spick and span as any first-class London sailing-ship could

be. My recollection of her is vivid even now. I think that she had taken troops there. As we got further up the harbour we came across
H.M.S. Miranda, an object of admiration and respect, for the tales concerning warships that were then told in merchantmen were many
and wonderful, creating an atmosphere of awe. There was also the vague idea still existing that a man-of-war could send on board and
take any men she pleased for the state service. Old traditions die hard, and at the time I write of the great mass of the songs and ditties
sung by seamen were reminiscences in verse of the Great Napoleon, and the men of the navy and the merchant service were more
interchangeable than they are to-day.

The Queen Street wharf was not then the imposing feature it now is; but it was a very fair size and we got to a comfortable berth at

the end of it, quickly getting clear of our live cargo. I have reason to think that the entire shipload was extremely welcome, for the town
was at that time more than a little anxious concerning the future of the Maori War. We, however, saw no signs of fighting.

As showing the vast changes a few years make, twenty-one years later I lay at that same wharf, in command of a splendid mail

steamer fitted to carry frozen mutton and produce to the home country.

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One great characteristic of Auckland in the early days was the peculiar abruptness of some of its streets. It was not lit at night-time

with any degree of brilliance, and the sudden inequalities of road surface required some practice to deal with; still we were generally
pleased with the place and the scene of bustle there was about the shipping. We, being the end ship of the wharf, often got visits from
the members of other ships’ companies, and in particular there was one midshipman from the Tyburnia of whom we heard great things.
He was a good-looking lad and a gentleman, but it seemed that he was rather made much of by his captain for his smartness as a
seaman; he was credited with being able to start from the deck, stow the mizzen royal, and be down again in four minutes. Our ship was
not exactly popular as a rendezvous, however, for the custom of the grog tub, prevalent in most ships in harbour, was entirely unknown
to us.

In due course the cargo was discharged. The mate, having kept careful tally, clapped on the hatches when he had landed the exact

quantity he was responsible for. There was a considerable surplus, but how the matter was finally arranged I know not—probably by
compromise I should think, for the mate, being a canny Scot, was not likely to have given much away. Our captain was anxious to
secure a cargo for London, so the ship was what is called “laid on” for that port, and we commenced loading with casks of Kauri gum.
These were stowed, with ballast to fill in such spaces as would hold it, for it was necessary to give her some stiffening; but one afternoon
I was taken up to the agents by the captain and sent back with a message to the mate to commence and break out and land all we had
taken in, as enough could not be procured to fill the ship. We all thought that bad luck, for we now had to ballast the ship and return to
Adelaide in the hope of filling with wool and copper. We made rather a long passage back, for there was a good deal of strong head
wind, the ship being hove-to under a close-reefed main topsail for some days. That made no difference to the work of the crew, for day
after day we were kept at it scraping and oiling the woodwork of the hold, in other words the inner skin of the ship. I personally was
very glad to recognise some of the landmarks I remembered in Bass Straits, and to know that we were that much nearer home. We duly
arrived at Adelaide without adventure, and commenced preparations for the homeward run.

Before going further with the narration let me describe a scene, not an unusual one in those days, which took place on the passage

from Auckland. There were certain epithets which were considered fair and lawful to use, and which men did not resent, on the other
hand there was one term only used if he who was delivering the oration was prepared to back his opinion by muscular arguments. Our
ship was fitted with patent reefing topsails, but as most good things have drawbacks to them this particular main topsail had developed a
habit of carrying its halliards away, and their replacement usually caused some little trouble. For one thing, it was an “all hands job,” and
with the scanty rest the crew were permitted, this did not tend to increase the smoothness of current matters either for officers or men.
Upon this particular evening the halliards had parted and the yard came down with a run. As the chain passed round the yard it was
necessary it should be kept clear of turns to ensure smooth working of the patent, and this was a job of some little difficulty. The second
mate and a fair number of men were aloft reeving the chains when one man in the top incurred the wrath of the mate, who was
superintending operations from the quarter-deck. He yelled out to his subordinate aloft: “Mr. King, kick that son of a —— out of the
top.” King on his part addressed some drastic remarks to the delinquent, but did not appear to consider it necessary to do more, so the
work proceeded until the man who had been “mentioned” came down the rigging saying loudly: “I’ve never been called son of a ——
before and won’t stand it.” That was enough for the mate. As the man stepped on deck he was met by a straight one, two, in the face,
and then began a rough-and-tumble about the end of which there could be no doubt. The captain came along to see what was going on,
and the mate sang out: “Put this man in irons, sir.” The captain did so, and poor Canadian Bill, as he was called, was duly ironed and
dropped for security down the lazarette hatch, where for some days he endured the scanty bread and bitter waters of affliction.
Needless to say he lost no time in deserting on arrival in port, which no doubt fitted in with the higher policy of the master, who did not
wish to retain the services of men at high colonial wages during a long stay in port when the absolutely necessary routine work could be
carried on by apprentices, the cargo of course being stowed by stevedores.

It may not be out of place here to say a few words concerning the power of the master in those days. It may be summed up as

absolute despotism. There was seldom any attempt made to obtain redress for ill-treatment at sea, and, strange though it may appear, a
ship might bear a terrible reputation through her master or officers, and yet little if any trouble was experienced in shipping a crew. It
must be remembered that shortly before this had been the great days of the Australian clippers that made most astonishingly quick
passages, and to do this it was necessary to keep the men in a very tight hand. This had its drawbacks, for where seamen, accustomed
to the rule of mates who in many cases could have qualified as prize-fighters, happened to sail in a ship where force was not so
dominant, they were apt to be very troublesome, as I shall show in the course of these pages. I give in this place one instance of the
despotic power of the master. One morning shortly after we reached Adelaide for the second time we were greatly surprised at
breakfast-time to see the second mate, Mr. King, walk into our quarters, sit down and commence to eat breakfast. He saw our looks of
astonishment, and remarked: “Did none of you fellows ever see a man drinking a pannikin of tea before?” Then it came out that for
some offence, I never heard what, the master had turned him out of the cabin to come and live with the apprentices and the warrant
officers. As we took home a few passengers that trip, I believe that the captain picked a quarrel to get more room and an additional
cabin aft, but King was quite an acquisition to our party, for he was a splendid sailor, and always bright and jolly, except when he
thought it necessary to use a rope’s end. That was pretty often, but the rope’s end had little terror for me. I had been so well
acclimatised to punishment at school that it took more than a rope’s ending to upset my equanimity.

I must confess, however, that a system obtained in that ship which was bound in the long run to end in disaster. The apprentices

were held responsible for far too many things, and if an article could not be found in its right place, or let us say the ship heeled over and
a bucket came down to leeward and hit the mate on the legs, his first instruction would be: “Mr King, lick those dam boys!” and we got
it. At that time the idea of possible rebellion had not taken root—that was to come later. I still think that the rope’s end in moderation is
a good thing for a boy, and regret exceedingly that a sickly sentimentality seems to be undermining the healthy view that corporal
chastisement is good for young people. I believe it is still one of those luxuries dealt out at Eton and similar schools to the sons of the
wealthier classes, and this undoubtedly constitutes a real advantage that the son of the rich man has over the board school boy.

Our life in Adelaide loading for home was enjoyable. There were many vessels in port also bound home, and there was a certain

amount of camaraderie among the various ships’ apprentices, but it seemed to me there was always a certain number of them who

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walked about thanking their Creator that they were not as other men were. In other words they aspired to take rank as from the ship in
which they served, and when it came to a near thing between two ships of nearly equal merit, a skysail, on a fitted flying jib-boom, or a
patent pump, or some such item was quite sufficient to establish a superiority which would be insisted upon with all necessary vigour.
What it may be to-day I know not, but ship worship was a very strong feeling among young seamen at the time of which I am writing,
and it ran high in the crews of such ships as the Orient, Murray, Connatto, Goolwa, and others, even including that very respectable
old vessel known as Irene.

As may be imagined in a small port such as Adelaide then was, the younger portions of the ships’ crews were something of a terror

to the inhabitants, for if one could not invent some new piece of mischief, another could; and when a party of us went on shore for the
evening the proceedings were seldom characterised by dulness. One great pastime of our ship in particular was swimming. We lay in
what was then the river basin, and that was close to a creek where there was a fine bathing-place. In the course of time we all became
good swimmers, and took an especial pride in diving. This was encouraged by the skipper, who urged us to go higher and higher from
the ship’s rigging, until at last some of us could dive from the mainyard. As the time of the year was the Australian summer it was a very
pleasant way of spending the evening.

The independent spirit manifested by the stevedores and other working-men that had to do with the ship came to one rather as a

revelation. There was a quiet assurance about these men that was remarkable; they knew what their importance was in a place where
labour was scarce, and being satisfied with the wages they got did their work with a manly independence which needed no driving. I
should mention that the stevedores stowing the wool were paid by piecework, and that perhaps may have had something to do with
their satisfactory performances. They had all been seamen at some period of their lives, and when hauling on their tackles in the hold,
screwing wool, could raise a chanty that would merit unfeigned approval from a nautical critic. Wool-screwing was there an art. There
was not the hurry-scurry of the present day, and I suppose it took two months to load that little vessel with wool and copper. When this
was done we shipped the able seamen we were short of through desertions, and set out for our homeward trip.

I wish I dare set down in black and white the various incidents of that trip, but I must refrain. We had three passengers, an old

Cornishman and his wife, considered second class, who lived in a boarded space in the poop, and a fairly young lady who messed with
the captain and mate. The front of the poop was fitted up as an immense birdcage for a great number of small green parrots that at one
period of the voyage died by scores daily. I believe, however, that enough survived to make the venture a paying one to the skipper.
We had shipped as steward a colonial man, the blackest I ever saw, with an immense idea of his own importance. As the steward on a
sailing-ship is looked upon exclusively as the master’s servant there is frequently antagonism shown him by the mate, and the present
case was no exception to the rule.

Now let me say that so far as my knowledge serves me, all boys at sea are thieves so far as food is concerned. It is not considered

dishonourable to steal any food that can be got at, but the great crime is to be found out. My particular chum, Fred Wilkes, however,
not content with annexing potatoes, had the audacity to light the galley fire in the middle watch for the purpose of baking them. This was
asking for trouble, which promptly arrived, for, being taken red-handed in the act, he was sentenced to be deprived of his forenoon
watch below for an indefinite time, and this sentence of brutality was actually carried out. For the uninitiated it may be explained that,
having been on deck for eight hours previous to 8 a.m., he was allowed time for his breakfast and then called on deck to begin a full
day’s work.

The passage home was to be made round the Cape of Good Hope (few of the Adelaide ships favoured the Cape Horn route), and

we were particularly fortunate in getting round Cape Leeuwin and up into the south-east trades with a fine fair wind. There are few more
pleasant passages than that across the Indian Ocean at the southern limit of the south-east trade, which on this occasion was blowing
very strongly. Indeed, at times it was more than we could carry all studding sails to. I remember that in our middle watch the lower
stunsail had been taken in for wind, and the captain, coming on deck during a period of lull, soundly abused the second mate, in whose
watch I was, for keeping the ship “hove-to,” and that with everything set except one lower stunsail which was even then being got ready
to hoist again. King was not in favour with the powers that were, although to do him justice he was a very fine seaman. On one occasion
on the passage from Auckland to Adelaide it became necessary to call all hands to shorten sail, and it happened that King was in
charge, neither the mate nor captain being on deck. It was necessary to take in the mainsail, and he did it successfully by taking up the
lee side first, in opposition to the dictum laid down in Falconer’s Shipwreck that—

“He who seeks the tempest to disarm
Will never first embrail the lee yardarm.”

At that time, however, there was a difference of opinion on the subject, and I think a good deal is to be said for both contentions. The
truth probably is that with a strong crew and proper management a heavy course, if taken in lee sheet first, was easier to furl, as the
canvas was not so much blown over to leeward, but on the other hand, if great care was not taken the canvas very often blew to pieces.

To do justice to the officers of that ship they were all fine seamen, and insisted on a high standard of a sailor man’s attainments from

all hands. A “job of work” badly done, or done in a slovenly manner, called down immediate reproof and punishment—which usually
meant doing it again in a watch below. In modern times it may sound strange to talk about reefed stunsails, but we carried them, and
night or day not a moment was lost in making or trimming sail as it was required.

It was when we were nearing the Cape of Good Hope that the mate going aloft one afternoon discovered that the mainmast was

sprung, and reported it to the captain in the words, “The mainmast is a sprung mast, sir, just below the futtocks.” In fact, as was
afterwards discovered, the mast was pretty rotten. All hands were immediately turned to splice a big spar up the after side of the mast,
and so well was this done by lashings of rope and chain, tightened up by wooden wedges, that it lasted the remainder of the trip without
giving any trouble. When the mast was taken out in London every one marvelled that it had lasted as it had.

When we sighted the land about the Cape, the first view of Table Mountain was most impressive, and it is one of those great

natural features that never loses its grandeur or becomes stale by constant acquaintance. I little thought that at that time there was a little

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maiden two years old toddling about an old garden there that in after years was to be my wife. So it was, however, and indeed I
ultimately grew to regard the Cape quite in the light of a home country.

The remainder of the passage home was uneventful. The next thing I remember was being at the wheel on a bitterly cold June

morning, when we made the English land, and the feeling of exhilaration that it gave all hands was a thing to be remembered. Then the
run up-Channel in company with many other vessels was a pure joy. The old man walked the poop snapping his fingers; as soon as we
got the pilot off Dungeness, and a tug, we commenced to furl the canvas and put the finishing touches on the ship’s harbour toilet. Once
in the London Docks the ship was soon deserted by the crew and left to the care of the apprentices, who were not supposed to have
any desire to get away. It happened, however, on this occasion that Captain Hole was subjected to a raid by my sisters, chaperoned by
that kind, gracious and beautiful lady, the late Mrs. G. E. Dering, whose wealthy and eccentric husband recently achieved posthumous
fame as “The Hermit of Welwyn.” As they desired to take me away at once for at least six weeks the old man surrendered at discretion,
and in all the glory of gilt buttons I was borne away.

That brings to a close my maiden voyage, but one thing that struck me when I got home was the pleasure with which one

remembered familiar details—even such insignificant things as old cracks in paving-stones. It seemed almost wonderful that one had
been so far away and yet come back to find everything just the same, even to the same old boatmen lounging on the pier apparently in
the same position they had occupied from one’s earliest recollections.

CHAPTER II

“’Twas all along of Poll, as I may say,
That fouled my cable when I ought to slip.”—Hood.

It is doubtful whether, if left to his own devices, any boy would go a second voyage without a very considerable amount of

hesitation. Indeed, a trip as far as the Downs quite satisfied the nautical aspirations of a certain friend of mine, who put to sea in the
Roxburgh Castle and left at the earliest possible moment. This was poor Will Terriss, whose tragic ending is still fresh in the memory of
his many friends and countless admirers. My own brother also had nautical aspirations. He went from London to Newcastle to join a
vessel as an apprentice. Unfortunately he went by sea, and the trip was amply sufficient to cure him, for he took train and came back
home at once, without even having seen his ship. I must say this was nothing remarkable, for sea-sickness is such a sheer horror that
people become indifferent to all surroundings, and are frequently so demoralised that they would hardly resist being thrown overboard. I
have known a case where, touching at a port some days out, it has been necessary to land a lad to save his life, the sea affected him so
terribly.

Terriss and my brother, therefore, had my sympathy in deciding not to stick to the sea, but in my own case there was no alternative.

I had insisted upon going to sea, so had to stick to it, and after six weeks’ holiday rejoined my ship in the London Docks. They had
replaced the sprung mainmast, and the ship was again loading for Adelaide.

Without any doubt it is wrong to make boys live on board a ship in dock without any effective control. There were always three of

us and sometimes four on board, and night watchmen looking after lights were easily hoodwinked. We had gorgeous and surreptitious
feasts, and the seals of custom house officers on excisable goods were tampered with quite easily. I can recall on more than one
occasion the mystified looks of officers who found seals intact and contents considerably shortened of what they should have been; and,
generally speaking, there is scarcely any problem of food supply that boys on board ship will not find a way of solving. Very wrong
indeed, many people will say; what became of your moral principle? I reply in the words of the Eton dame who, asked as to the moral
qualities of the boys: said, “There was never a moral amongst them,” and, after all, it wasn’t much worse than orchard robbing! This is a
digression, but it is a little difficult to sit down late in life to recount one’s juvenile villainies without at least a half-hearted attempt to
palliate them—knowing also at the time that even then you do not mean your confession to be a complete one.

In due course the ship was loaded and the crew signed on. We had a new second mate, who we quickly discovered was of a

different make to the last one. In fact, I think it was hinted to him that the rope’s-end régime was not to our liking, and that we had
begun to discover that unity was strength, but this was only possibly because he messed with us. For the “old man,” having started by
turning King out of the cabin, thought fit to continue the innovation, and kind-hearted Geordie Roshwell was not the type of man to
assert himself. A good seaman he was, but more sailmaker than second mate. Both mate and captain bullied him unmercifully, and
destroyed the little authority he was capable of wielding.

We were detained in the Downs for many days, one ship of a large fleet, for the wind was blowing too hard from the westward for

us to attempt to beat down-Channel. When at last we did make the attempt we got as far as Dungeness and spent one night under short
canvas, almost constantly wearing ship on short boards and eventually anchoring again; but we finally did get a slant of wind and fairly
started on the voyage. I will only recall one incident as showing the sort of treatment that was then meted out to seafarers as the ordinary
custom. It was one of the desires of Captain Hole that his apprentices should be first-class helmsmen, and for some unexplained reason
that they should steer better than the able seamen. One day the ship was going her course with a very strong wind just free enough to

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carry a topmast stunsail in addition to all plain sail. She was steering badly when I relieved an A.B. at noon; in point of fact she was a bit
of a handful and the old man had been taking a good deal of interest in what had been going on. This interest he now transferred to me,
and because I could not do better than my predecessor I was sentenced to stay at the wheel until eight o’clock that night. Fortunately
for my arms the wind grew lighter as the afternoon wore on, and about six o’clock my chum smuggled me a biscuit along. In this,
however, with his usual bad luck, he was detected, and when eight bells came he was ordered to relieve me, and spent the four hours of
his watch below at the wheel. It was a rough school, but injustice never seemed to be questioned, or thought much about; the master
was absolute and despotic, and there was no more to be said.

There is little of interest to record of this passage. Adelaide was reached in due course; the cargo was discharged, the crew

deserted, the ship was chartered for London and taken out into the stream to load, as it was likely to be a long operation. The wool was
only coming down slowly, and the apprentices had their fair share of work cut out for them. The routine was something after this fashion
—called at 5.30 a.m. and got to work by 6.0, washing decks, or doing boat work; half-an-hour for breakfast at 8 a.m.; then on again to
1.0, when there was an hour for dinner; 5.30 p.m. clear up decks. Even after supper the work was not over, for two of us had to pull
the skipper on shore and remain in the boat waiting for him, usually till midnight. As we were taking in the ship’s water, the rest of us
frequently spent the evenings in towing off a small lighter that carried water-tanks. Well, that was all right enough; it was hard work, but
we were used to it and did not grumble; but I think the cause of the subsequent trouble was the interference with our shore leave, and I
am also afraid that the eternal feminine had a little to do with it.

It was in this way. On the preceding voyage the skipper invited some young ladies on board to lunch, with one of whom he seemed

to be somewhat smitten. Now, as it happened, I also was acquainted with the family, and as boys and girls we were on good terms
together. Of this the skipper knew nothing until some kind friend gave the show away. That was quite enough for him, and I was duly
informed when I asked leave to go on shore, that it was no longer permitted.

That evening we boys held a great pow-wow, at which I stated my intentions to do no more work, and two others also resolved to

follow my lead. The sense of injustice rankled very strongly; we were worked most unsparingly and then denied the most ordinary
privileges to which we had a right; and the proverbial worm at length turned.

Next morning came the usual summons to turn out, and as I woke up I remembered that I was pledged to defiance by the

resolution I had come to the preceding evening. So when my fellow conspirators looked to me for guidance they got all they wanted.

Now that I am nearing the end of my career I can look back and see that there is, and has been, one very cu...